Lawmakers rally for Gwinnett barber facing deportation after ICE detention

Georgia lawmakers, advocates and family members of Rodney Taylor gathered Thursday morning to protest his detention and demand his immediate release.

The group gathered outside of the Atlanta U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office to hand-deliver a new letter signed by state lawmakers and a petition with more than 7,500 signatures to stop Taylor’s deportation, according to a news release.

Alberto Feregrino, the Georgia organizing director for We Are CASA, called shame on the ICE agents and officials keeping Taylor in detention

“Rodney should be at home with his wife, with his seven children, with his beloved community,” Feregrino said at the event.

Taylor, a Gwinnett County barber, has been detained for over a year and reportedly has serious medical concerns that have not been addressed in the facility.

Taylor was brought to the U.S. from Liberia as a two year old to receive medical care, which resulted in the amputation of both his legs. He never left the U.S.

Samantha Hamilton, a senior litigation staff attorney with Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta, said that people being detained in ICE facilities regularly report being denied medical care.

“ICE needs to release Rodney from Stewart Detention Center so that he can return to his family, to his community, and so that he can get the necessary medical care that he so desperately requires,” she said.

State Rep. Gabriel Sanchez spoke at the event and said Taylor has faced unbelievable conditions at the ICE Stewart Detention Center.

“I’ve seen the conditions that him and others have had to deal with, the heartbreaking stories directly from people in the facility, including Rodney. It is unimaginable the pain they have to go through, and no human being should be ever treated like that,” he said.

Sanchez cited the firing of former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem as a sign that Taylor’s case has gained national attention.

“This shows that the pressure is working, and we have to keep it up. Our movement has power, and we must not let up now,” he said.